I wrote this guide to help some buyers to avoid making a mistake when buying a mannequin based on the size of it. Some sellers are offering ONE SIZE FITS ALL mannequins and that is a wrong information. Here it is.

Mannequins…Small, Medium or large size??

I love Claudia Shiffer, the top fashion model, but I can’t imagine her modeling small, medium or large sizes, so why would a mannequin have to do that?. A mannequin is like a fashion model but silent, immobile and most important not so expensive. Mannequins wether female, male, or child are made for certain range of sizes.

Sewing Mannequins

There is a kind of mannequin with an adjustable mechanism for sizing but it’s used for professional tailoring and it costs around $ 250.00 and up plus shipping, so, when I listen about sellers offering an economical mannequin which can display ALL SIZES of clothing, I think something wrong is happening with this industry or the economic situation is really bad  to try to sell something without ethics.

The mannequins are made by the factories to sell them around the world and they are made to be capable of using some ranges of sizes but it is hard to find a mannequin which will be for an specific size or what is worst, one for ALL SIZES.  Unless it’s custom made (usually famous designers, brands or stores).

The Fashion Stores

Some fashion stores adjust a little bit the clothing on the back if they consider necessary and this is valid but they never use a small mannequin to show large clothing or viceversa. If you make that, do you know how your potential customers will perceive you? Here is my experience.

One time when I was beginning on ebay, I wanted to buy something for my sister. I had notice she used to wear a large size. Then I found an ebay store (now is out of the business – of course) with a nice outfit displayed on a mannequin, so I read and verifed it was a large size and did Buy it Now. I imagined how beautiful my sister would look on it, as the mannequin showed. After a few days she received the gift, but the outfit didn't look as good on her as it did on the mannequin. Of course I didn’t tell her that, but I emailed the seller and he told me that the outfit sold was a large size one although it was displayed on a smaller size mannequin and it was pinned for picture purposes and my claim had no reason. The mannequins are useful to let the customer see how the clothing will look on him/her,  so the seller must be honest with that. Of course you may guess which was my next gift: a gift card. That seller lost a customer because he showed a clothing on an incorrect mannequin.

So, think about that before buying a mannequin. If you want to earn money selling clothing as in any bussiness, be honest and show your customers the best way you can, how they will look with your clothing. I bet that you will have satisfied and returning customers.

The French and Classic style

Large Size         Small-Medium

Some sellers are offering one of these mannequins as for ALL SIZES and maybe for some (a few, I think) clothing styles, you can use it, but you will have to work more in making the clothing look good on the mannequin. If you see the pictures below you will notice these differences.

The measurements for these mannequins are:

FRENCH STYLE: Bust 36.6 , Waist 24.8 and Hips 37 (Large Size mannequin)
CLASSIC STYLE: Bust 34 , Waist 24.5 and Hips 35 (Small - Medium Size mannequin)

***The French Style for large clothing can display pants. The Classic Style cannot display pants because of the lenght of the hip***

This image shows how the mannequin size is important when displaying your clothing merchandise.

The shoulder width is particularly important in fitted garments with set-in sleeves. It may not be as important in the overall fit of loose-fitting garments with drop-shoulder seams or loose kimono-sleeve styling, but I am sure you are not buying a mannequin to sell only loose fitting garments.

If you want to buy these kind of mannequins, review all the information regarding the measurements.

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Thanks for your time and good luck in your business.